Inductees 2018 - Dr Tracy Westerman

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Dr Tracy Westerman

Dr Tracy Westerman is a proud Njamal woman from the Pilbara. Despite coming from a background of disadvantage and one in which she had to undertake most of her tertiary entrance subjects by via School of the Air, Tracy went on to attend university and earnt her PhD in Psychology. In 1998 Tracy founded Indigenous Psychological Services (IPS), http://indigenouspsychservices.com.au/ to specifically address mental health needs within Aboriginal communities. She soon became a trailblazer in the areas of culturally specific assessments, and cultural competence training. As an Aboriginal psychologist, Tracy has self-funded research, and developed unique screening tools that have enabled the identification of Aboriginal people at the early stages of suicide and mental health risk. As the 2018 Western Australian of the Year, Tracey is an internationally recognised leader in this field, providing keynote addresses overseas, as well as Australia-wide. Her message is that "there is nothing we can't achieve as Aboriginal people if we believe in ourselves".